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Premium Video-on-Demand Service to Begin Thursday

By Brooks Barnes April 19, 2011 4:28 pmApril 19, 2011 4:28 pm

DirecTV says that on Thursday it will begin pumping into living rooms movies that have been in theaters for only about two months. The new service, which has been expected, has drawn harsh opposition from multiplex chains.

Four of Hollywood’s six major studios will participate in the Home Premiere video-on-demand service, which shortens by 50 percent the exclusive period theaters traditionally have been given to show movies. The studios are Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal and Warner Brothers. (Disney and Paramount will remain on the sidelines.)

Home Premiere will be available only to a sliver of DirecTV customers — the six million or so nationwide who have an HD DVR receiver. (DirecTV has about 19.2 million subscribers total.)

The first title will be “Just Go With It,” a comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, according to a DirecTV spokeswoman. In the coming weeks, the service will show “The Adjustment Bureau,” a thriller starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt; “Cedar Rapids,” a little-seen art-house comedy; and “Hall Pass,” another comedy. The movies will be available for two-week periods.

DirecTV typically charges about $5.99 for its on-demand movies for a 24-hour rental period, but early access allows the company to charge a hefty premium — $29.99 for a 48-hour rental. That is why satellite and cable providers and most of the movie studios are so enthusiastic about the new service.

Multiplex owners have a significantly different opinion. They worry that early-access video on demand, or V.O.D., will accelerate a shift away from watching movies in theaters. Chains have signaled that they may refuse to show films that have been earmarked for early on-demand. A refusal to show trailers for films made by studios participating in Home Premiere has also been suggested as a response.